


All the Violet Tiaras / Braided Rosebuds, Dill and / Crocus Twined Around Your Young Neck

by quentincoldwaters



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Everyone Is Alive, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:02:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23707324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quentincoldwaters/pseuds/quentincoldwaters
Summary: Meet Inej Ghafa. She has a wonderful best friend, a supportive found family, and a Golden Retriever named Jack.  She recetly opened a flower shop - her childhood dream. She's happy, sure, but she still feels like something is missing and aches with the loneliness and longing that plague her mind.Meet Nina Zenik. After her mother's murder, she packed everything she owned into her sidecar and drove four hundred miles on her motorcycle to find a fresh start. Nothing much is fresh in Ketterville, a town shrouded in fog, and her new home. Even though she's working in her dream job as a tattoo artist, she's still drowning in memories of her mother, and yearning for something greater than a one-bedroom apartment in a murky town.Are they what's missing in each other's lives? Will Inej ever be truly content? Will Nina learn to move on from the ghosts of her past?
Relationships: Inej Ghafa/Nina Zenik, Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Eck, Kaz Brekker/Matthias Helvar
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	All the Violet Tiaras / Braided Rosebuds, Dill and / Crocus Twined Around Your Young Neck

**Author's Note:**

> hello ! i'm writing this fic for my very good friend luka (@bloodcherrysoda on twitter), and she suggested that i post it on here ! we're both gay & love flower shop aus, so that's basically the motive behind this. i hope u like it :). my tumblr is @karollinadean, and my twitter is @genyalinas, if u want to give me a follow !

It was a slow day. Early January was about a month out from flower season, especially in the sleepy town of Ketterville. Snow still clung to the sidewalks and lined the twisting limbs of the trees that seemed months away from bloom. A biting wind settled itself in Inej’s bones every day on her commute to Brekker’s Blossoms - her flower shop that she’d named after her best friend and number one customer, Kaz Brekker.

He’d been her rock, ever since that first day of school when he made the boys who pushed her over back off and helped her up. Kaz’d smiled at her, a sweeter, softer version of his trademark crooked grin, his hair down to his shoulders. Today, Kaz’s hair was shorn smooth at the sides and roughly tied back on top. It was still the same deep ebony as it was two decades ago, though Kaz had a habit of convincing Inej to dye it some crazy colour whenever they’d both had too much vodka, or whiskey, or whatever was their drink of the month. Inej’s personal favourite was the candyfloss pink of November. Kaz’s roommate, a lanky man of twenty who had an affinity for poker, also looked particularly striking in pink. Jesper often took part in their drunken escapades, usually being the ringleader.

Brekker’s Blossoms was a small, cramped store on the corner of a dreary street in the middle of a dreary town. The town’s whole population barely scraped two thousand. Two thousand people trapped underneath the many layers of fog that sat upon the roofs of every building. Inside, though, it was like summer every day. The walls were painted sky blue, and were decorated with a beautiful mural of stretching cornfields on two walls, and an idyllic garden on the other two. Inej’s friend Kuwei was an art student. He’d done all four walls for the low, low price of dinner and a box of doughnuts. Racks as tall as Inej (not very tall) were pressed against one wall, holding various cacti and succulents. Another was rigged with hooks that baskets full of hanging flowers dangled from. Next to the entrance was a coffee table. A plate of complimentary cookies, baked by Inej herself, and a water dispenser topped with paper cups sat next to a thick catalogue that held photos of every flower she sold. The back pages were dedicated to prices for decking out everything from weddings to funerals to birthdays. The counter sat in the middle of the room, decorated with small potted plants and pictures of Inej and her friends: Kaz, Kuwei, Jesper, Jesper’s boyfriend Wylan, and Kaz’s boyfriend Matthias. Kaz’s brother Jordie occasionally featured in these photos, since he often came to visit from the next town over, where Kaz and Inej had grown up. Her store was tiny, but it was hers, and she wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Inej stared at the clock. Somehow three hours had passed, yet the clock only showed five minutes. She loved her store, truly, but the winter months were so lonely. She got so few customers that she often considered closing up until February and getting a second job. Still, Inej was nothing if not dedicated. Even so, she couldn’t help but daydream of lazy evenings with Kaz, watching lame movies, or beating Jesper at poker. 

The rev of a motorcycle engine pulled Inej out of her dreams. No one was cool enough to own a motorcycle in Ketterville, surely? To her surprise, she watched the rider dismount outside, and walk straight through the door, helmet tucked under her arm.

Some people say that every time a bell rings, an angel is born. In that moment, Inej certainly believed it, for the woman who triggered the door chime was the most gorgeous woman she’d ever seen. Auburn hair fell in soft waves to just passed her shoulders, her skin perfect porcelain. Her eyes were a gentle blue, rimmed by long eyelashes. A curved nose sat above Cupid’s bow lips that were stretched into a kind smile. Though she was pale, her cheeks were tinged the same pink as her lips, a soft rose glow. She was curvy, her body plump. Her clothes were regular enough - a deep purple skirt over leggings and a denim jacket - but she still seemed otherworldly. Her jacket was decorated with embroidered flowers and impeccably sewn-on patches that Inej couldn’t quite make out. As she pulled off her riding gloves, Inej could see tattoos snaking out of her sleeves onto her hands. 

“Hiya,” said the woman, her voice full of laughter, as if she knew the effect she had.  
“Hi.” A blush was just visible underneath her brown skin. She shook her head, determined to keep her cool. She was Inej Ghafa! She could throw a knife from 50ft and still hit her target directly in the heart, for fuck’s sake!  
“Are you wanting some flowers?” She cringed immediately.  
“No, I came in here for a spare tire.” Her tone was sarcastic, but kind, as if she was just teasing.  
Inej smirked a little. “Right. Silly question. What are you looking for? I’m afraid our stock isn’t as good as it usually is. January isn’t exactly prime flower time.” Inej launched into a long spiel about flowers and the advantages of geraniums over snowdrops in winter, all the while the redheaded woman listened intently. She couldn’t help but smile at the earnest girl behind the counter, even if she stumbled over her words slightly.

After the customer had picked the flowers she wanted, Inej took them in the backroom to wrap them up. Feeling a sudden surge of bravery, she scribbled her number and a quick sketch of a flower on the back of a leaflet that was shoved through the letterbox about climate change. She plucked the prettiest violet from her supply and took it through with the bunch that she’d wrapped - using her most expensive ribbon, the one she usually saved for weddings. 

“Here you go,” Inej said, with a smile, as she handed the flowers over. She pressed her number into the woman’s other hand. “Just in case you need it.”  
“A climate change leaflet? Very essential, I must say.”  
“Turn it over,” Inej muttered, blushing profusely.  
“Ah, that’s definitely more essential. I’ll be sure to call you if I have a problem with the geraniums. A dangerous flower, as I’m sure you’re aware.” She tucked the leaflet into her back pocket with care, despite her jokes.  
“My name is Inej, by the way.” Her voice was more confident than she felt.  
“I’m Nina, darling,” said Nina with a genuine smile over her shoulder as she walked out.

“Goodbye Ni-” Before Inej could finish, the door slammed in her face, the cruel wind filling her shop. It was only then that she realised she’d crushed the violet to a pulp in her hand. She let it fall to the floor, and trampled it under her heel.


End file.
